How Can I Join?
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  • Participation Requirements

    To participate in BELONG you or your child must:

    • Have a prior diagnosis of OCD or a suspicion of OCD.
    • Identify as Black or African American, or have at least one grandparent who identifies as Black or African American.
    • Be between the ages of 5 and 70.
    • Be willing and able to provide a saliva sample, and ideally have two biological parents who are willing and able to provide a saliva sample.

  • What is involved?

    Your participation in the study can be completed in 3 easy steps:

    1. Consent: Contact us to learn about the research study from our team and give your consent to participate on a confidential platform. If your child is experiencing OCD symptoms and is under the age of 18, they can participate with your consent.
    2. Interview: A member of our study team will interview you (or you and your child) about experiencing OCD symptoms.
    3. Saliva Collection: We will mail you a saliva collection kit so you can provide a sample at home and mail it back (at no cost to you) to the study team.

    … and that’s it! Your participation time is expected to be between 1-4 hours.

  • Will I be compensated?

    Yes! You will get compensated $25 for completing the OCD interview, and $25 for sending the saliva sample, for a total of $50. Your biological parents may also be compensated $25 for completing questionnaires and sending a saliva sample, meaning your family can get paid up to $100.

What Is the BELONG Study?

The Black EquaLity in OCD NeuroGenomics (BELONG) study is focused on engaging people who identify as Black or African American to learn more about how obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects people in Black/African American communities. Previous studies on the geneomics of OCD have mainly included people who are White or Caucasian, so our ability to support Black or African American people with OCD is limited. In the BELONG study, we are working to address the current inequalities in genomic studies of OCD and expand our understanding of how OCD affects Black/African Americans.

What is neurogenomics?

Neurogenomics is the study of how our genetic makeup (all the genes that we have on our chromosomes), passed to us from our parents, can contribute to brain conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). As we learn more about the biological aspects of OCD, it can help us to develop better and more effective treatments.

Who can participate?

The design of our study includes an assessment of current or past OCD symptoms. Since people of all ages can have OCD, children, teenagers and adults can join our study. Along with the OCD assessment, participants also provide a saliva sample for the neurogenomics part of the study. For anyone with OCD who participates in our study, their parents are also invited to participate, regardless of whether either parent has OCD. This is because the most powerful way to study neurogenomics is to have a saliva sample (used for the genomic analysis) from an individual and both their parents.

Who are we?

The BELONG study is being conducted by a multi-cultural group of researchers throughout the United States, based at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai School in New York City, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The entire study can be done remotely over Zoom or over the phone, so you can participate from anywhere in the United States.

The BELONG study is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).